FRANKFORT, Ky. (11/14/13) – “Kentucky will comply with the President’s request to allow Kentucky’s insurers the option of determining whether to extend existing health insurance policies to current policyholders for one more year. This will be a business decision for each insurer to make, as many of them have invested a great deal of time and money into preparing for the transition to new standards under the Affordable Care Act (ACA).

In Kentucky, only about 6 percent of the population may be affected by today’s an-nouncement – those who have existing health insurance policies on the individual or small group market.

The Governor has directed the Department of Insurance (DOI) to take steps to imple-ment the President’s request. DOI will work closely with insurers to make sure they make appropriate notifications to policy holders and offer them a full view of op-tions – including the fact that all Kentuckians are able to shop on kynect, the state’s health insurance exchange, to seek alternative health insurance plans. All plans on the exchange meet all ACA guidelines and may cost less than existing poli-cies on the private market, plus many Kentuckians will be eligible for subsidies to help pay for premiums.

Today’s decision has no effect on the fact that all Kentuckians now have access to affordable, reliable health care and they cannot be denied coverage for any reason. More than 40,000 Kentuckians have already signed up for new health insurance thanks to the ACA and kynect.” – Gov. Steve Beshear